Jurrens signing set for July 13

June 28, 2013

Former Emmet County sheriff's deputy Joel Jurrens of Estherville will sign his novel, In The Sticks, 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 13 at Simply Unique at 610 Central Ave. in Estherville.

A gruesome murder comes to rural Iowa when Deputy Lyle Hoffman finds the tortured and murdered body of a beautiful woman in a farmhouse. Did her past association with an outlaw biker gang follow her to Iowa, or has a murderer been living among them for years. Hoffman will discover that friends he has known for years hide secrets - some of them deadly. He will learn that depravity and insanity does not just exist in the big cities, but also out here IN THE STICKS.

Jurrens' background as a peace officer lends greatly to the novel's realism. Lyle Hoffman's character is just flawed enough to make him human, yet heroic enough to get the reader's empathy.

Following are some of the comments the critics have had about the book:

"The pace of the book in the latter chapters pulls you along so fast you get to the end before you realize it's coming." - New Mystery Reader Magazine *Four Bolts*

"Joel Jurrens has written just the type of mystery novel I enjoy: flawed characters, not too much gore, easy to read . . . The sarcastic humor was also a huge plus for me. I love it when characters don't take themselves too seriously. All in all, In The Sticks is a great pick for those of us who like mystery novels with a little edge and without the nightmares." - Dana Burgess, Let's Book It *Four Stars*

"I meant to read for an hour or so. Four plus hours later I'm still reading." - Janet Newport, Goodreads review *Four Stars*